The Gospel of Thomas
Now for most, the Gospel of
Thomas is unknown, except in terms of 'esoteric christian
thinking'. Most people know of the 'doubting Thomas (Twin) who touched Jesus
and so confirmed that Jesus is resurrected flesh therefore proving that the
heretical docetists are
wrong. We also know that Thomas went to
Now for those who don't know, Didymus Judas Thomas
literally means 'Twin Judas Twin' ... so the author would be Judas or Judah,
the twin. What few have speculated on is this Judas/Judah might be the twin of
an Apostle or of Jesus himself, but too few scholars have spoken up about that
to make any sort of definitive statement...
For the Gospel, most look at the 114 sayings or 'Logia' and most agree that
'later additions' were put on and so gave the Gospel a non-canon flavor. So
scholars for over 2 decades now have looked at the Gospel and concentrated on
the 'orthodox' and 'canon' sections of it, and disregarded the 'leaven' that
was written into it. So the translation I have will easily show which sections
to ignore, while you can read the old 'canon' layer of the gospel.
Dating?
Dating it is fairly interesting, scholars agree that the 'primitiveness' of the
sayings, and the connections to Paul’s early epistles have the gospel to be old
indeed, most 'early camp scholars' say a dating of the mid 1st century, which
is the same time for the Didache. Where the gospel was written is anybodies
guess really. Some put it in a Palestine/Syria/Egypt connection, but the
connections are too thin to make anything stick. The add-ons are easily from
the 2nd century when the early Gnostics started becoming a force in
Note: in 232, the Indian king
known as Mazdai/Misdeos/Misdeus returned Thomas’
remains to
Late Date?
The main thing we don't see is an apocalyptic 'end times' section, which we did
see in the Didache and early Christian writings in Paul, Peter and others. Now
like I mentioned in the Didache section, the 'crisis' after the 50's where
Jesus hadn't shown up yet, maybe this is what caused the author to not have an
'end times' section. Also nothing dealing with Prophets and itinerant teachers
show that maybe the author was so far outside of 'home' that nothing of Palestine/Syria
was known... (Since Thomas preached in
Gnostic connections?
The odd thing about the gospel is that familiar terminology like archons,
pleroma, aeons, or demiurge
aren't in the gospel which leaves some wondering if the gospel is even gnostic at all. Also the main 'Gnostic' form known as
"Valentinian gnosticism"
isn't found at all in Thomas. Yes, it was found at Nag Hammadi,
but we know that Plato and Socrates weren't Gnostics and some of their works
were found there as well.
But when one looks at the later
additions, dealing with the Gnostic aversions to marriage, children, faith, the
physical body, secret knowledge, and other aspects, one can see that a large
chunk of the gospel is dangerous to more ‘orthodox’ readers. So below I have
taken out ‘the leaven’ and kept the meat for curious readers who want to look
at the earlier layer of Thomas.
How does this gospel tie in with the NT?
The sayings, those that 'count' in my book, are pretty similar to what Paul
wrote in 1st Corinthians, Galatians, and Philippians, which as most scholars
feel pre-date the canonical gospels (Mt, Lk, Mk, Jn). So a lot of the sayings are what we see in the NT,
while other sayings are totally new.
What the early church fathers thought?
The early church fathers overwhelmingly thought it to be not of use as a
Gospel, and that too few early christians
even knew of it (which might show that the author wrote the gospel far away
from Palestine/Syria/Egypt. The sayings were generally thought to be good, but
the 4 gospels were to be the Pillars, as GThomas was
not considered one of those pillars. And lastly, GThomas
was thought to be outside of orthodoxy since the Gnostics had decided to use
the gospel for their canon.
The Gospel of Thomas
Note: The translation I am using
is the early ‘orthodox’ layer without the later ‘gnostic’
additions
Translation by: Gordon Raynal,
March, 2004)
(intro) These are the saying that
Jesus spoke and Judas Thomas recorded:
2:1 "Those who seek should not stop seeking until
they find."
3:1-3 "If your leaders say to you, "Look the (Father’s)
imperial rule is in the sky," then the birds of the sky will precede you.
If they say, "It is in the sea," then the fish will precede you.
Rather the (Father’s) imperial rule is within you and it is outside you."
4:2 "Many of the first will be
last."
6:6 ... and there is nothing covered up that will remain
undisclosed.
8:4 Anyone with two good ears had better listen!
9:1-5 "Look, the sower went
out, took a handful (of seeds), and scattered (them). Some fell on the road,
and the birds came and gathered them. Others fell on rock, and they didn’t take
root in the soil and didn’t produce heads of grain. Others fell on thorns, and
they choked the seeds and worms ate them. And others fell on good soil, and it
produced a good crop: it yielded sixty per measure and one hundred and twenty
per measure."
10 "I have cast fire upon the world, and look, I’m guarding it until it blazes."
12:1-3 The disciples said to
Jesus, "We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?"
Jesus said to them, "No matter where you are, you are to go to James the
Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."
14:4-6 "When you go into any region and walk about
the countryside, when people take you in, eat what they serve you. After all,
what goes into your mouth will not defile you, rather
it is what comes out of your mouth that will defile you."
20:1-2 The disciples said to
Jesus, "Tell us what Heaven"s imperial rule
is like." He said to them, It"s like a
mustard seed. (It"s) the smallest of all seeds,
but when it falls on
prepared soil, it produces a large plant and becomes a shelter for
birds of the sky."
22:1-2 Jesus saw some babies nursing. He said to his
disciples, "These nursing babies are like those who enter the (Father’s)
domain."
25:1 "Love your friends like your own soul
26:1-2 "You see the sliver in your friend’s eye, but
you don’t see the timber in your own eye. When you take the timber out of your
own eye, then you will see well enough to remove the sliver from your friends eye."
31:1-2 "No prophet is welcome on his home turf;
doctors don"t cure those who know
them."
32 "A city built on a high hill and fortified cannot
fall, nor can it be hidden."
33:1-3 "What you will hear with your ear... proclaim
from your rooftops. After all, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket,
nor does one put it in a hidden place. Rather, one puts it on a lamp stand so
that all who come and go will see its light."
34 "If a blind person leads a blind person, both of
them will fall into a hole."
35:1-2 "One can’t enter a strong person’s house and
take it by force without tying his hands. Then one can loot the house."
36:1-2 "Do not fret, from morning to evening and from
evening to morning, (about your food- what you're going to eat, or about your clothing-)
what you are going to wear. (You’re much better than lilies, which neither card
nor spin.
39:1-3 "The Pharisees and the scholars have taken the
keys to knowledge and have hidden them. They have not entered, nor have they
allowed those who want to enter to do so. As for you, be as sly as snakes and
as simple as doves."
41:1-2 "Whoever has something in hand will be given
more, and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little they
have."
42 "Be passersby."
45:1 "Grapes are not harvested from thorn trees, nor
are figs gathered from thistles.
46:1-2 "From Adam to John the Baptist, among those
born of women, no one is so much greater than John the Baptist that his eyes
should not be averted. But I have said that whoever among you becomes a child will recognize the (Father’s) imperial rule
and will become greater than John."
47:1-5 "A person cannot mount two horses or bend two
bows. And a slave cannot serve two masters, otherwise that slave will honor one
and offend the other. Nobody drinks aged wine and immediately wants young wine.
Young wine is not poured into old wineskins, or they might break, and the aged
wine is not poured into new wineskins, or it might spoil. An old patch is not
sewn onto a new garment, since it would create a tear."
48 "If two make peace with each other in a single
house, they will say to the mountain, "Move from here!" and it will
move."
54 "Congratulations to the poor, for to you belongs Heaven’s
domain."
55 Whoever does not hate father and mother cannot be my
disciple, and who ever does not hate brothers and sisters... will not be worthy
of me.
57:1-3 "The Father's Imperial rule is like a person
who had (good) seed. His enemy came during the night and sowed weeds among the
good seed. The person did not let the workers pull up the weeds, but said to
them, "No, otherwise you might go to pull up the weeds and pull up the
wheat along with them."
62:2 "Do not let your left hand know what your
right hand is doing."
63:1-4 "There was a rich person who had a great deal
of money. He said, "I shall invest my money so that I may sow, reap,
plant, and fill my storehouses with produce, that I may lack nothing."
These were the things he was thinking in his heart, but that very night he
died. Anyone with two ears had better listen!"
64:1-11 "A person was receiving guests. When he had
prepared the dinner, he sent his slave to invite the guests. The slave went to
the first and said to that one, "My master invites you." That one
said, “Some merchants owe me money; they are coming to me tonight. I have to go
and give them instructions. Please excuse me from dinner." The slave went
to another and said to that one, "My master has invited you." That
one said to the slave, "I have bought a house, and I have been called away
for a day. I shall have no time to come." The slave went to another and
said to that one, "My master invites you." That one said to the
slave, "My friend is to be married, and I am to arrange the banquet. I
shall not be able to come. Please excuse me from dinner." The slave went
to another and said, "My master invites you." That one said to the
slave, “I have bought an estate, and I am going to collect the rent. I shall
not be able to come. Please excuse me." The slave returned and said to his
master, "Those whom you invited to dinner have asked to be excused. The
master said to the slave, "Go out on the streets and bring back whomever
you find to have dinner."
65:1-7 "A ... person owned a vineyard and rented it
to some farmers, so they could work it and he could collect its crop from them.
He sent his slave so the farmers would give him the vineyard’s crop. They
grabbed him, beat him, almost killed him, and the slave returned and told his
master. His master said, "Perhaps he didn’t know them." He sent a
second slave, and the farmers beat this one as well. Then the master sent his
son and said, "Perhaps they’ll show my son some respect." Because the
farmers knew that he was the heir to the vineyard, they grabbed him and killed
him.
68:1 "Congratulations to you when you are hated and
persecuted.
69:2 Congratulations to those who go hungry, so the
stomach of the one in want may be filled. "
72:1-2 A (person said) to him, "Tell my brothers to
divide my father’s possessions with me." He said to that person,
"Mister, who made me a divider
73 "The crop is huge but the workers are few, so beg
the harvest boss to dispatch workers to the field."
76:1-2 "The Father’s imperial rule is like a merchant
who had a supply of merchandise and then found a pearl. That merchant was
prudent; he sold the merchandise and bought the single pearl for himself.
78:1-2 "Why have you come out to the countryside? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to
see a person in soft clothes, (like your) rulers and the powerful ones?
86 (Foxes have) their dens and birds have their nests, but
human beings have no place to lay down and rest.
89:1-2 "Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Don’t
you understand that the one who made the inside is also the one who made the
outside?"
92:1 "Seek and you will find.
93:1-2 Don’t give what is holy to
dogs, for they might throw them upon the manure pile. Don’t throw pearls (to)
pigs, or they might... (trample)... it... (underfoot)."
94:1-2 "One who seeks will find, and for (one who
knocks) it will be opened."
95:1-2 "If you have money, don’t lend it at interest.
Rather give (it) to someone from who you won’t get it back."
96:1-2 "The Father’s imperial rule is like (a) woman.
She took a little leaven, (hid) it in dough, and made it into large loaves of bread.
97:1-4 "The (Father’s) imperial rule is like a woman
who was carrying a (jar) full of meal. While she was walking along (a) distant
road, the handle of the jar broke and the meal spilled behind her (along) the
road. She didn’t know it; she hadn’t noticed a problem. When she reached her
house, she put down the jar and discovered that it was empty."
98:1-3 "The Father’s imperial rule is like a person
who wanted to kill someone powerful. While still at home he
drew his sword and thrust it into the wall to find out whether his hand would
go in. Then he killed the powerful one."
99:1-2 The disciples said to him,
"Your brothers and your mother are standing outside." He said to
them, "Those who do what my Father wants are my brothers and my mother.
100:1-3 They showed Jesus a gold
coin and said to him, "The Roman emperor’s people demand taxes from
us." He said to them, "Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, give God what belongs to God.
102 (Jesus quoting Aesop as the punch
line!)
"Damn the Pharisees! They are like a dog sleeping in
the cattle manger: the dog neither eats nor (lets) the cattle eat."
107:1-3 "The (Father’s) imperial rule is like a
shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them, the largest, went astray. He
left the ninety-nine and looked for the one until he found it. After he had
toiled, he said to the sheep, "I love you more than the
ninety-nine.""
109:1-3 "The (Father’s) imperial rule is like a
person who had a treasure hidden in his field but did not know it. And (when)
he died he left it to his (son). The son (did) not know (about it either). He
took over the field and sold it. The buyer went plowing, (discovered) the treasure,
and began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished."
113:1-3 His disciples said to him, "When will the (Father’s)
imperial rule come?" It will not come by watching for it. It will not be
said, "Look here!" or "Look, there!" Rather, the Father’s
imperial rule is spread out upon the earth, and people don’t see it